1. Field of Invention
This invention is related to containers, and more particularly, to containers which may be carried in the standard water bottle holders often found on bicycles or other types of sporting equipment.
2. Background of the Invention
The water bottle holder is a standard component, which can be found at most retail locations where bicycles and biking accessories are sold. Most new bicycles have two locations for mounting water bottle holders. With the emergence of backpack type hydration systems, many bicyclists no longer place water bottles in their holders. Other cyclists may choose to carry just one bottle at a time. The commuter bicyclist may not carry any water bottles at all.
There are many items a bicyclist may want to have easy access to, but may not want to carry on his or her body while riding. These items include sunglasses, personal identification, emergency information, money, credit cards, patch kits, tools, writing tools, computers, cell phones, food and first aid kits.
High performance racing bicyclists require on-bicycle accessory options that are lightweight and unobtrusive. Technical mountain bicyclists require on-bicycle accessory options that are rugged and can withstand high vibration environments.
There are a number of on-bicycle storage options available to cyclists such as saddlebags, and under-seat bags. The bicyclist cannot easily access these types of storage devices without completely dismounting the bicycle. Many on-bicycle storage options require the use of special mounting brackets and cannot be easily removed from the bicycle between uses. Many of these options are large and obtrusive. Some canvas bags are not at all waterproof.
A few non-liquid storage containers intended for placement into standard water bottle holders have been proposed. For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,308 to Endre discloses a curved food container. This container includes a closure which covers the mouth of the container and is secured to the container by a tether. Although the tether effectively secures the closure to the disclosed container, the closure is still free to flop around when the container is open. The closure could potentially be struck by the cyclists legs. It could also interfere with the moving parts on the bicycle including the pedals, chain rings, or wheels. The curved container provides no means for splitting the main hollow body in order to access the articles which may be lodged in the bottom of the container. It also has no means for fixing specific articles to the container. Thus the articles are free to bounce around inside the disclosed container. This may be an audible annoyance to the bicyclist and may also cause damage the stored articles.
Another example of a non-liquid storage container adapted for placement into standard water bottle holders is U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,707 to Bowes. It discloses a protective telephone case composed of two separate halves which when mated together form a hollow cylinder with capped ends. The Bowes device cannot be fully opened unless it is removed from the water bottle holder. Because of it's cylindrical shape it would be susceptible to rolling when places on it's side on the ground or a table top. This device has a high part count, and requires numerous assembly processes, making it prohibitively expensive to manufacture.